MERCER COUNTY Prison board approves settlement involving former jail inmate's suit

Various delays have pushed occupancy of the new county jail back to May.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
MERCER, Pa. -- The Mercer County Prison Board has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a former county jail inmate for $2,000.
The board approved the settlement Monday and it must now be approved by the county commissioners.
James Epstein, Mercer County District Attorney and prison board president, said paying the settlement isn't an admission of liability or wrongdoing on the part of the county. It's a matter of resolving this dispute based on the recommendation of the county's solicitors, he said, noting the county commissioners negotiated the settlement.
The suit was filed more than a year ago by Michael Redmond of Sharon, who charged that two corrections officers used excessive force against him when he was incarcerated in the jail several years ago on disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and other charges.
He created a disturbance in a cellblock and had to be relocated by guards, Epstein said, adding that no charges were ever filed against Redmond in the case.
Redmond sued the two corrections officers involved, the prison board, the jail and others, Epstein said, adding that, over the period of a year, all but the two corrections officers were dismissed by the court as suit defendants.
Electronic key control
In other business, the board gave its approval for a $38,085 change order to Best Access Co. of Pittsburgh for an electronic key control system in the new county jail now under construction in Findley Township.
The board decided that an electronic system will be safer and easier to monitor than traditional manual locking systems that require actual keys.
The county commissioners also have to approve the change.
Commissioner Brian Beader, who sits on the prison board, repeated his earlier concerns about rising costs for the 265-bed project, which was to be completed in January 2005.
Weather and other delays have pushed back projected occupation until May, Beader said.
Change orders
Meanwhile, the county is being hit with suggestions for more change orders, he said.
The jail was estimated at $18 million at one point, but a financial update by the controller's office Monday shows projected spending has reached $20,662,039. That number doesn't include the cost of the electronic key system or a $26,000 credit to the county for landscaping changes.
Two other possible change orders were discussed Monday's meeting. One is for additional kitchen equipment with a price tag of $25,000 and the other is some improvements to Thompson Road, the access route to the new jail, for $21,230.
Road drainage problems will require the digging of drains beneath the roadway at the entrance to the new jail to eliminate water problems, said Bill Barbary, clerk of the works on the jail project.
The project is coming out of a $34 million bond issue borrowed by the county for the jail, renovation of the courthouse, a touch-screen voting system and improvements to two district justice offices. Beader has warned that the county will have to borrow more to finish the jail.
gwin@vindy.com